FEDERER REACHES STUTTGART TITLE MATCH AND RECLAIMS NO. 1 RANKING FROM NADAL North Carolina outlasts Oregon State in College World Series opener
Roger Federer defeated Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (2), 6-2, 7-6 (5) to book his place in the Stuttgart Open final and reclaim the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal on Saturday.
“It’s nice that it happened but I’ve other problems,” said Federer, playing his first tournament since March. “I hadn’t played in three months, it’s on grass, it’s fast and difficult to get so far here. Still, I’m delighted to have achieved it.”
The Swiss great will play Milos Raonic as he bids for his 18th grass-court title and 98th altogether.
Raonic earlier hit 19 aces and saved the only break point he faced as he defeated defending champion Lucas Pouille 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the other semifinal.
Federer was pushed all the way by the fourth-seeded Kyrgios, who had 23 aces.
Kyrgios forced a mini-break in the deciding tiebreak, but Federer remained steady and sent a short backhand past the Australian on his first match point to clinch the win.
Federer was trailing Nadal by 100 points at the start of the week and is guaranteed of taking the top spot on Monday regardless of how today’s final goes.
— Associated Press
North Carolina knocked out Oregon State ace Luke Heimlich during a five-run third inning and went on to beat the Beavers 8-6 on Saturday in the opening game of the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
The Tar Heels (44-18) used six pitchers in a 4-hour, 24-minute slog in 95-degree heat that was the longest nine-inning game in CWS history. They turned back threats from one of the nation’s most potent offenses in the sixth and seventh innings and prevailed against an opponent they hadn’t faced since losing to the Beavers in the 2006 and ‘07 CWS finals.
Ashton McGee and Ben Casparius, North Carolina’s Nos. 8 and 9 batters, combined to drive in five runs as the Tar Heels built leads of 6-1 and 8-4.
Oregon State (49-11-1) was poised to go ahead in the seventh after loading the bases with two outs against Josh Hiatt and Steven Kwan coming to bat. Kwan had reached base on his first four trips to the plate and had struck out only 15 times in 247 at-bats, making him one of the toughest players in the nation to strike out. Cooper Criswell came on and struck him out on three pitches.
The Beavers were uncharacteristically sloppy while losing their third straight game over two years in Omaha. Carolina scored on a passed ball, and the Beavers committed three errors after making one in their first five NCAA Tournament games.
Then there was Heimlich (16-2), the two-time Pac-12 pitcher of the year who lasted just 2 1/3 innings — his shortest start in two years.
Last year, Heimlich left the team for super regionals and the CWS after it was revealed he had pleaded guilty to molesting a young relative when he was 15. The university allowed him to return to the team this year. He served two years’ probation and went through a treatment program but denied wrongdoing in recent interviews with Sports Illustrated and the New York Times.
There was no discernible negative crowd reaction during pregame introductions; Oregon State fans behind the thirdbase dugout loudly cheered Heimlich.
The first two Carolina batters reached base each of the first three innings, and the senior left-hander was charged for the Tar Heels’ first six runs. He hit three batters, walked one and struck out two in his shortest outing since going 2 1/3 innings against Southern Cal on May 21, 2016.